Performance Study of Hybrid Magnetic Coupler Based on Magneto Thermal Coupled Analysis

Specific to a problem of large vibro-impact aris ing from the cutting unit of the hard rock tunnel boring machine (TBM), a hybrid magnetic coupler based on soft start was proposed in this paper. The mathematical model for total eddy current losses of such a coupler was established by field-circuit method. Then, magnetic-thermal coupling simulation was performed by virtue of three-dimensional finite element software. In addition, an experimental prototype was independently designed; by comparing the model with experimental data, validity of the above mathematical model was verified. The relevant research results indicated that calculated values were consistent with experimental values, and the magneto thermal coupling method could be applied to accurately analyze temperature distribution of the hybrid magnetic coupler. By contrast to the existing magnetic coupling of the same dimension, output efficiency of the hybrid magnetic coupler was improved by 1.2%. Therefore, this research technique can provide references for designing the cutting unit of hard rock TBM with a high start impact.